Ex-manager rebukes Hazem over SBW

Danny Weidler

HAZEM EL MASRI has won plenty of support from Bulldogs fans for his left-field attack on Sonny Bill Williams but has lost the respect of some of his closest mates. El Masri lashed out at Williams 4½ years after he walked out on the Dogs. He called for an apology - something that SBW has already done publicly. Is he supposed to say sorry every time he flies into the country? SBW bit his tongue but away from the microphones he was not impressed. In an interesting twist, the man who advised and managed El Masri through his career - high-profile lawyer Adam Houda - has taken Williams's side. "Equipped with the facts, any athlete faced with Sonny's predicament would have acted in the same way and walked out," Houda, who has parted ways with El Masri, said. "Given his time over again, I believe that Sonny may have handled his exit from the game a little better but would have walked out nonetheless. Before hurling rocks at Sonny, people should be aware that NRL players have, in my opinion, being working under an illegal salary cap for a long time, restricting their earning potential. From a legal perspective therefore and in those circumstances, Sonny should have been entitled to set aside his contract with the Bulldogs and NRL. Legalities aside, Sonny should have been allowed out of his contract with the Bulldogs and with their blessings. Can anyone name me one athlete, electrician, accountant or any other employed person who would refuse an offer from another employer to earn five times his current salary? Under the salary cap, Sonny would not have been able to earn anywhere near the money he was offered by rugby. Let's keep matters in perspective, this is only football. To highlight my point: where was the NRL's loyalty in relation to Adam Ritson when his career was cut short due to illness? Does anybody believe the support Adam received was sufficient? Where was the NRL's loyalty to our immortal Graeme Langlands when he fell into financial difficulty? This is despite the fact that Graeme's name is constantly being used to help promote the game. And where is the NRL's loyalty in relation to players who have served the game so well in the past and have fallen on bad times?'' Williams also received strong support from retired dual international Wendell Sailor. "You really have to wonder what Sonny has to do for people to offer the bloke a second chance," Sailor said. "Rugby league has embraced plenty of people who have either done the wrong thing or upset some people in the game. It's time for people to get over it and give the bloke a break. He is going to be so great for the game and it just shows that rugby league is the game that all the best footballers want to play. They all come back and we should welcome him back."

Cooper gets a plug

WHILE on the subject of Sonny Bill Williams, he has gone public backing Quade Cooper to make the switch to rugby league. The feeling that something may be on the boil is unavoidable. "I'd love to play with Quade one day - he is just one of those players you like watching and he is a pretty good bloke, too," he said. "I think he'd be great in rugby league if he wanted to give it a shot at some point." Williams also talked about how serious he is in his boxing career. "I can see myself giving it a real go a few years down the track," he said. "I didn't know if I could fight when I started it and now I just want to learn as much as I can. I'm really looking forward to the time when I can do it every day."

Hayne mulls code-breaking

WITH Israel Folau coming back to the NRL, Eels star Jarryd Hayne has nominated Australian skipper Cameron Smith as an ideal target for AFL clubs if they are wanted to make more inroads into the NRL. And he's admitted that it's a sport he'd like to give a go at some point. "I really think that Cam would be great at AFL," he said. "I know the likes of Billy Slater and GI [Greg Inglis] get plenty of mentions but I think Cam would be great. He'd be good when they are contesting the ball, around the ruck and he has a very good left-foot kick." Hayne admitted he was sounded out by the GWS Giants last year. ''I said no, and I think that if they came back I'd say no again. I love rugby league. We have a great game and it's a game I love playing. I just enjoy the physical side of it. I'd love to try AFL if I could make up for the years I missed - it has appeal because I'd like to test my body in that game. At the moment I don't know if I'd do it." Hayne said he didn't seriously consider too many other clubs when he was last off contract and he is not certain what he will do this time around with his Parra deal up at the end of next season. "I really have a good feeling about the Parramatta club and it's all I've known. My contract is the last thing on my mind - I've never looked anywhere too seriously with my previous contracts and I don't know how this one will play out." As for Folau, he said: "It's clear that Izzy knows which game he loves and he wants to return to rugby league, and if it can be at this club it would be great," he said. "He'd be a strike weapon with his frame and he'd have the endurance that he did not have as a league player because of his time in the AFL. He'll certainly return as a hungry player, he's been watching his mates play and he has missed it."

One proud grandad

MICHAEL CLARKE has taken ownership of the Australian cricket team and the public - and his family could not be prouder. His grandfather Raymond Fox spoke out after Clarke's latest superb effort, his unbeaten double century in the first Test against South Africa. "I don't think I'm speaking out of school by saying that he conducts himself equally well off the field as he does on the field and we support him so strongly,'' he said. "We stick together as a family and he has been a great support to me. I lost my wife recently and he lost his grandmother - when he scored his first 100 he looked to the air and that was for her." Clarke was in India when his grandmother died and he couldn't make it back for the funeral. He wrote a poem that was read out to the mourners. "Michael gave me his trophy cabinet from home, he gave me his AB Medal and his hats. I wear a different hat to the games. When we watch him for a Test we get a seat and stick to it for the Test. It's a little family superstition. While he is batting I never move. Never. I sat in seat 191 for this Test and he went past that so it was a good seat."

Izzy an Eel or isn't he?

PARRAMATTA have been warned there are two NRL clubs with the cap room to sign Israel Folau - and one is the Dragons. But we keep getting told Folau wants to play with the Eels. St George Illawarra are beautifully placed to do some major rebuilding next season and the following year. Don't forget they had the money to accommodate Michael Jennings for next year but his agent Isaac Moses did not want him going to the Dragons. It's worth noting that Moses is the man who looks after Folau. We revealed last week that Parramatta were tipped off that they had no cap to work with to sign Folau - the figure has since been revealed by Fairfax Media as $110,000. And the club is looking to shed players. Now the latest whisper is Folau is considering a stint in Japanese rugby.

Keeping up with Jones

JAPAN'S rugby coach Eddie Jones says the NRL should not panic about an exodus to Japanese rugby. "It's just not going to happen because of Sonny Bill Williams," he said. "You need to remember that he is not a league player - or hasn't been for the last four years. He is an elite rugby player - not someone trying to learn the game. In Japan you get two import spots so to choose someone who has no experience is a big risk." So who are the top three league players without a rugby background who Jones would buy. "Without a doubt the No.1 player you'd sign would be Johnathan Thurston - he would be a great No.10," he said. "I think second would be Cameron Smith - he is just a smart footballer with every skill. And I reckon I'd go for Billy Slater after that.''

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